The Grand Finale of the FinTech World Cup (FWC) held on Day 2 of the Dubai FinTech Summit (DFS) concluded with over USD 9.25 million in investment commitments from international investors to high-potential start-ups.
Organised by Trescon, in collaboration with VISA, Emirates NBD, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the event brought together 15 global start-ups, including:
Audax, Xaults Technologies, Monak E-Services, YABX, ALTPAYNET, APPRO, Libeara, Letbloom, Myzoi, Vault22, Lordsystem, MOIN, Alphastream.ai, Validus, and Namara.
APPRO emerged as the Grand Finale winner, securing an on-the-spot investment of USD 500,000. Other notable commitments included:
- Finix196 – USD 5 million from Dhruv Management
- AlphaStream – USD 3 million from Motive Partners
- Validus – USD 750,000 from AUM Ventures
Mohammed Saleem, Founder and Chairman of Trescon, said:
“We were thrilled to host FWC at DFS – a platform that gave start-ups access to international capital, regulatory support, and global exposure. As a jury member and investor, I commit to investing in some of these start-ups, including APPRO.”
Naveen Bharadwaj, Group CEO of Trescon, added:
“FWC is a real opportunity to solve global challenges through capital and collaboration. Besides the $9.25M in investments, winners will benefit from mentorship, credits from Trescon and Amazon, global exposure, recognition, and strategic scaling support.”
The FWC jury was comprised of distinguished professionals from various sectors of the FinTech industry, including Nasir Zubairi, CEO at The LHoFT Foundation; Hugo Bongers, Partner at Motive Ventures; Sara Tabana, Senior Director of FinTech Innovation Strategy at Visa; Melissa Cannon Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Arbor Ventures; Mohammed Saleem, Founder and Chairman of Trescon; Chetan Mehta, Founding Partner at AUM Ventures; Rana Abdel Latif, Partner at Speedinvest; Nacira Alioua, Head of FinTech Engagement at Emirates NBD; and Tunc Ozgul, Head of Startup and VC Ecosystem at Amazon Web Services.
About the Dubai FinTech Summit:
Organized by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Dubai FinTech Summit is a premier annual event uniting 8,000+ industry leaders and 1,500+ investors.
Dubai is fast emerging as a global FinTech hub, with the market projected to grow at 17.2% CAGR to reach USD 949 billion by 2030.
The Summit aligns with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33, aiming to position the city among the top 4 global financial centers by 2033.
